Brother and Sister
by snakeboy33
Summary: "Because you're my little brother". Basically a series of oneshots about Yuma and Akari's relationship.
1. Nee chan

_**"Nee-chan!"**_

**Note: I'm assuming that Akari is 18. If she's not, then she is in this fanfic. This part is told from Akari's POV.**

When Yuma was born, I was about five. My parents were at the hospital for most of the day, while I was staying at home with my grandmother.

It would be an understatement to say that I was excited. I had been anticipating getting a little sibling for a long time, since my mom told me that she was pregnant again. I do have to confess that I was actually hoping to get a little sister, like most girls do. Granted, I guess I would not have really minded if it was a boy. I was in the hospital waiting room with my grandmother. My dad was in the operation room with my mom, while she was giving birth. I was really anxious, waiting for the doctors to say things were okay.

Eventually, however, my dad came out.

"Hey, Akari!" he said with a smile," Come in!" I blinked, and I looked at my grandmother. She smiled and nodded for me to go.

I walked over to where my father was. He lead me into the hospital room. I saw my mother on the bed, she was holding a small bundle, and she looked tired, but happy. From the bed, I heard some soft crying.

"Akari," she said with a smile," Come here." I slowly walked to the hospital bed, and my mother held out the bundle. In it was a little baby.

"This is your little brother," Mom said," Yuma." The baby was still crying, but I had to admit, he looked cute. He actually looked like my dad, with the same black hair with two red streaks.

"My… little brother?" I asked.

"You're a big sister," Dad said, tussling my hair with a grin. Mom brought Yuma down to my level.

"Look Yuma, this is your sister," she said with a smile. I looked at my baby brother and smiled.

"Hi, Yuma," I said," I'm Nee-chan!"

Yuma just continued to cry, but my Dad insisted it was because he was just born.

It was a while before Yuma was brought home. I remember Dad fixing up one room into Yuma's bedroom, complete with a crib.

Fortunately, my room wasn't that close to his. I considered that to be good, because he always was crying in the morning, demanding to be fed. I enjoyed sleeping late, and didn't get to do it often anymore, since he was always bawling.

My parents kept telling me that babies needed a lot of attention and care, and it would probably go like this for a while. While I was REALLY annoyed, I didn't complain, because I knew they were right.

One day, I went into Yuma's room, and I leaned on the crib bars. He was asleep, and I just looked at him, holding onto the bars. However, he suddenly woke up, and started crying. I cringed at the screaming sound. I heard my mother hurrying up the stairs, and I knew I would probably want to leave, since she might blame me. But as I was about to leave, the door burst open and my mother came in.

"Akari, what happened?" she demanded.

"I didn't do anything Kaa-chan!" I protested," I was just watching him when he woke up and started crying."

My mother sighed as she picked Yuma up and bounced him and down to try and make him stop crying.

"You really need to be more careful, he's just a baby," she said.

"But, Kaa-chan!" I moaned.

"No buts, Akari," Mom said sternly, as she looked at me," I don't want you bother Yuma again!"

I pouted, and left the room. I then sat on my bed, staring at the ground, with my knees pulled up to my chest.

"Stupid baby," I muttered," He just gets me into trouble."

As it turned out, he would. I don't know why, but whenever Yuma cried, it always seemed to be someone's fault, specifically mine.

One day, we were all sitting in the lounge. I was on the couch, playing a video game on a console, Mom was in a rocking chair, cradling Yuma, and Dad was reading a book. Grandma was in her room, presumably drinking tea, like she commonly did. She was a "traditionalist" after all.

"Akari, will you turn the sound off, please?" Mom asked," It might bother Yuma."

"But he's asleep right now," I protested.

"Don't argue with me," Mom said calmly," Just do what you are told. You know how much Yuma cries."

"Tou-chan!" I said to my dad.

"Listen to your mother, Akari," Dad said, not looking up. I glared, and stood up.

"Fine, I'll just go up to my room!" I snapped. As it turns out, I said it too loudly, and Yuma stirred from his sleep.

"Oops," I said with a weak grin, as Yuma started to cry. My parents glared at me, and I went up to my room, where I just sulked.

Later, that evening, I walked into Yuma's room, and grabbed the bars. Yuma was awake, and playing with his stuffed animals. He looked at me curiously. I just stuck my tongue out at him, and made faces. However, Yuma just laughed at the sight of my actions. This made me frustrated.

"I wish I wasn't your Nee-chan!" I said, as I stuck my tongue out again, before turning to walk out of the room.

"N… n… ne…," I heard Yuma said," Nee-chan!" I froze, and slowly turned around, I saw Yuma sitting up, smiling at me.

"Nee-chan!" he said again happily. It was his first word, and he was talking to me. I suddenly smiled, as I picked him up, and hurried down stairs.

"Tou-chan! Kaa-chan!" I said, as they both looked up," Yuma can talk!" I held him up.

"Nee-chan!" Yuma said again with a smile.

"Oh, that's adorable!" Mom said, as she walked over, and bent down," Its no shock that your his first word, he loves you very much." Dad laughed as he tussled both mine, and Yuma's hair.

"Those are my kids, they seem to share some kind of bond," he said.

I then smiled at Yuma, and I hugged him, and he seemed to hug me back.

That was the first in an ongoing stream of days that when people ask me about Yuma, and I say," I'm his Nee-chan!"

**Note: I'm satisfied I wrote this. It has been eating at me for a while, but I wasn't sure how I was going to do it. I've go to say, I urge people to write more Yuma/Akari Family fanfics. I did have "Lisa's First Word" in mind when I wrote this.**


	2. Boyfriend

_**Boyfriend**_

**Note: Takes place in the "present" time in the Yugioh ZEXAL universe. I was told that Akari is probably 20 (thank you Hana13), so for at least this oneshot, Akari is going to be 20. I know I shouldn't be jumping around age like that, but its for the benefit of the story.**

**Also, this is in the present time, and is told from all POVs. This one can probably be rated "T".**

It was a typical day in the Tsukumo house. Yuma was lying on the couch, playing a video game console, looking bored. All his friends were currently busy, so he had nothing really to do.

Haru was sitting at the table, sipping tea.

"Well, how do I look?" Akari's voice asked. Yuma and Haru looked up.

Akari was dressed in a rather scanty look outfit. It was just a top that covered her chest, and exposed her midriff. She was wearing a more than short skirt, and high heels. She was also wearing makeup, granted, a little too much. Her lips were the color of blood for starters, and she lashes looked like coat hangers.

Yuma then burst out laughing, as he fell off the couch, his legs kicking. A vein throbbed in Akari's forehead, before she walked over, and picked Yuma up by the collar.

"What's so funny!" she demanded. Yuma kept laughing.

"You look a carnival clown!" he said through his tears. Akari glared even harder at her little brother.

"You look… good," Haru said, after a moment of hesitation which Akari didn't seem to catch. She dropped Yuma, who fell to the floor with a "thud" and smiled.

"I'm going to see my boyfriend, so I need to look good," she said proudly. Yuma scowled as he got up, and rubbed his aching rear.

"Why do you keep going out with that guy?" he asked. Akari glared at him.

"Because he's cute and nice," she said.

"No he's not," Yuma said," He's a jerk!"

"How would you know?" Akari asked, folding her arms.

"Cause I've seen him," Yuma answered," He always makes snide comments, and acts stupid. Who are you defending, Nee-chan? He's an ass!"

Akari promptly slammed Yuma on the skull.

"OUCH!" Yuma groaned, as he grubbed the growing welt on his head.

"Shut up!" Akari said," I'm going, and what are you going to do about it?" Yuma pulled a face at Akari, before hurrying up to his room.

"Please be kinder with Yuma," Haru said," I'm sure he has your best interest at heart."

"He's just such a pest some times," Akari said with a sigh," Well, I'm off!" With that, she left.

Yuma lay in his hammock, staring at the ceiling. His charm glowed, and Astral came out.

_"What is a 'boyfriend'?"_ he inquired. Yuma sighed.

"Nee-chan has been seeing this guy named Tamaki for a while now," he explained," He's her boyfriend, meaning that they go out an do things together."

_"What sorts of things?"_ Astral asked.

"I don't know, romantic things?" Yuma answered tossing his hands up in exasperation.

_"Why were so frustrated about her leaving to be with this guy?"_ Astral questioned. Yuma shrugged.

"Well, like I said, he's a jerk," he answered," He always says mean things."

_"Have you met him?"_

"No," Yuma answered," But I know that is how he acts, because I watch him when he drops Nee-chan off here at home. He always says these stupid things to her, and all the money for what they do seems to come from her wallet."

_"Why do you let your sister go with him?"_ Astral asked.

"I tried to make her stop at least ten times now!" Yuma cried, collapsing back into the hammock with a groan," But she always ignores me!"

_"Perhaps she needs to realize it for herself,"_ Astral suggested, looking out the window. Yuma then sat up with a smile.

"A lightbulb just went off in my head!" he said.

_"But your head isn't glowing,"_ Astral pointed out. Yuma sweatdropped.

"Its an expression," he said," It means I have an idea." Astral looked up at the ceiling.

_"Observation 20:_ **(yes I'm making that up) **_Humans have a tendency to say words, but mean something else,"_ he said.

At a local dancing club, Akari was sitting at a table, waiting for her boyfriend to show up.

"Hey, Akari!" a voice called up, and Tamaki came running up. He had spiky, brown hair, he wore a black sweater over a brown shirt, and dark blue pants. Akari smiled at the sight of his approach.

"Hey, Tamaki!" she said, as he sat next to her, and they kissed. However, Tamaki slid his tongue into her mouth, which wasn't welcome for Akari that much, but she didn't really mind.

"That's a sexy outfit," Tamaki said eyeing her," Good thing you look this good. The guys are coming here." Akari blinked.

"You brought your friends?" she asked.

"Yeah, I want to show them just how good of a girlfriend I have," Tamaki said, with a grin. Akari managed to smile, telling herself this was a good thing.

Yuma, meanwhile, had managed to catch a ride on the bus, and went to the place Akari was. He looked at the place from behind a wall.

_"Are you certain this is a good idea?"_ Astral asked. Yuma gave the thumbs up.

"I will bring my Kattobingu!" he said," And make Nee-chan realize who she's really dating!"

Meanwhile, in the club, Tamaki's friends had shown up, and they were eyeing Akari.

"You were right, Tamaki!" one said," This girl is hot!"

"You scored good!" another said, patting Tamaki on the shoulder. Akari managed to suppress any negative feelings she might have had on her mind, and smiled.

"Thanks!" Tamaki said, as he put an arm around Akari," I was pretty lucky to get a chick this good looking!"

Akari leaned on Tamaki's shoulder, and listened to the music.

After the party was over, Akari and Tamaki were heading out.

"See you tomorrow?" Tamaki asked.

"Actually, tomorrow, I've got to drive my brother to a school event," Akari said.

"I'm sure you can make an exception, right?"

"Well, my parents did tell me to keep an eye on him," Akari said.

"But its just one day," Tamaki said, grabbing Akari's shoulder. She contemplated using her own strength to get him to stop, but decided against it.

"Well..," she began.

"Great, see you here!" Tamaki said, before heading to his car. Akari sighed, and stared at the night sky.

As Tamaki walked to his car, he heard a voice.

"Hey, you!"

He turned, and saw Yuma standing there, arms folded.

"What do you want?" Tamaki asked.

"You should leave Akari Tsukumo alone!" Yuma said.

"Or what?" Tamaki asked with a laugh. Yuma grinned.

"Take my Kattob…," he only got halfway through his phrase, when he leapt at Tamaki, and was punched in the stomach.

"Don't waste your time, brat," Tamaki said with a sneer. Yuma got up and glared, and lunged at Tamaki again, but was knocked back down again. Astral was watching.

_I wish I could help_ he thought_ But I can't touch anything solid._

Eventually, Tamaki picked Yuma up by the collar, and shoved him against the wall.

"Look you stupid little punk," he said," Akari Tsukumo is my girlfriend. She is hot, and sexy. That's all the reason I need! I will parade her as much as I want! And you can't stop me!" Yuma cringed, before looking behind him, and pointing with a smile.

"What are you smiling at?" Tamaki asked, as he turned. He noticed Akari standing there, an enraged look on her face.

"Oh hey, Akari!" Tamaki said with a desperate looking smile, as he dropped Yuma," Just teaching this brat a lesson."

"Said brat, happens to be my little brother," Akari said menacingly, as she walked forward. Tamaki backed up into a wall, visibly nervous.

"Oh, its your little bro?" he asked, before looking to Yuma quickly," Sorry little man, I had no idea! No tell your sister it was a misunderstanding!" Yuma just stuck his tongue out at him.

"Look Akari!" Tamaki said quickly, as he looked at Akari again. Akari narrowed her eyes, and cracked her knuckles.

Later, Akari had driven Yuma to a small park, where they lay on the grass.

"Sorry about not listening to you," Akari said," You were right, Tamaki was a jerk." Yuma shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, Nee-chan," he said," Its not entirely your fault." Akari smiled at him.

"Glad I stopped him when I did," she said.

"Why?"

"Because nobody beats up my little bro," Akari said with a smile.

"Nee-chan," Yuma said, also smiling. However, Akari's then smirked. She then playfully pulled Yuma into a head lock.

"That is except me!" she said, laughing.

"Nee-chan, let me go!" Yuma cried, as he struggled to get out of his sister's grasp.

As the siblings tussled in the grass, Astral looked over them, arms folded.

_"Observation 21: Human siblings are protective of each other," _he said as he watched.

**Note: and this is part 2. I am taking story suggestions, and I will gladly listen to them.**


	3. Sanity

_**Sanity**_

**Done as a suggestion by Clover-stovoid.**

Yuma walked home, sighing with his hands behind his head. Astral was hovering near him.

_"Yuma," _he said_," What is an 'exam'?"_

"Its something you take to see how good you are doing on something," Yuma answered.

_"You seem worried about it,"_ Astral noted.

"Exams aren't really my strong suite," Yuma admitted with a shrug.

_"Observation 22: You do poorly on schoolwork," _Astral said.

"Shut up, I do well on other stuff!" Yuma said, facing him, as he came up into his house. He opened the door.

"I'm home!" he announced.

"Welcome home," Haru said with a smile.

"What took you?" Akari asked.

"The traffic was bad," Yuma answered, before looking towards Akari," Nee-chan, I was wondering if we could go to the carnival tomorrow?" Akari looked at him.

"I'm going to be busy on both days," she answered," Why don't you just go with Kotori or Tetsuo?"

"Kotori is going out of town those days, and Tetsuo has homework to do," Yuma said," You're always busy!"

"Sorry Yuma, but I need this gig I currently have," Akari said with a shrug. Yuma sighed, as he headed up to his room, dropping a test paper in the process from his bag, though he didn't notice. Akari noticed it, and picked it up.

"Another bad grade," she grumbled to herself, rolling her eyes," This time, I'm going to really kick his ass, because if he makes me drive him to summer school again…"

"Don't take things too far," Haru said calmly, sipping her tea," You could use the practice driving safely." Akari sighed, as she headed up to Yuma's room.

"Yuma!" she called, as she opened the door.

"Man, Nee-chan can be such a pain," she heard him say from the attic. Akari rolled her eyes, and got ready to take him down.

"Don't say that, she normally just uses me as a way of finding some more of those lame reports that she uses," Yuma said," Isn't the whole idea about being a reporter finding the scoops on your own." Akari stopped, and blinked. Was he talking to himself?

"How should I know much money she makes, I've never asked!" Yuma said, apparently to himself," Not that she would answer. She never seems to pay attention to me anymore." Akari cocked her head, somewhat curious about the whole thing. Eventually she climbed up the ladder into the attic. She stuck her head in.

"NEE-CHAN!" Yuma said, as he fell off his hammock," Ow!"

"Who were talking to?" Akari asked.

"Astral," Yuma said, pointing. Akari followed his finger, but didn't see anything.

"There's nothing there," she said.

"What are talking about!" Yuma insisted as he continued to point," He's right there!" Akari just stared, and sighed.

"Yuma, are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"I'm feeling fine!" her brother insisted.

"Alright," Akari said, as she climbed up, and faced him, hands on her hips," Look at this test grade." She held the paper out to him. Yuma sighed.

"Nee-chan," he insisted.

"Yuma, you have to work harder," Akari said," Baa-chan and I don't want to hear your complaints about taking summer classes."

"Its not that bad!" Yuma insisted.

"Its a 69%," Akari said, folding her arms," You've got to study harder."

"But Nee-chan," Yuma began.

"No buts!" Akari said as she climbed back down," You need to do better!"

Yuma sighed.

"See what I mean?" he asked.

_"Observation 23: Siblings often quarrel,"_ Astral said calmly.

Downstairs, Akari collapsed onto the couch with a sigh.

"Yuma was talking to himself again," she said.

"Why do you think he was doing that?" Haru asked.

"No idea," Akari answered with a shrug," I'll ask Kotori. Maybe she can tell me." She then pulled out her D-Gazer, and called Yuma's friend.

_"Oh, Akari-san!"_ Kotori said.

"Hey Kotori," Akari said," I was wondering if you could tell me if Yuma has been acting strange lately?"

_"How so?"_

"Talking to himself," Akari proposed. Kotori sighed.

_"Well, he has been talking to himself a lot lately, and a lot of it happens when he's dueling," _Kotori explained. Akari let out an exasperated sigh.

"This is why I don't want him dueling," she muttered to herself," Well, thanks Kotori." With that, the two hung up on their respective ends.

"Perhaps we should have Yuma see a psychiatrist," Haru said," It might do him wonders."

"One of my friend's parents is a psychiatrist," Akari said," I can ask her."

The next day, Akari got her D-Gazer and called her friend.

"Hi, Koizumi-san!" she greeted," Its me!"

_"Oh hello Akari!"_ Mrs. Koizumi answered_," What' can I do for you?"_

"Its about my little brother," Akari answered.

_"What seems to be the problem?"_ Mrs. Koizumi inquired.

"Well, he's often talking to himself," Akari answered," And when he's at home, spends so much time alone in his room doing just that. I'm beginning to worry that he might be going a little… crazy."

_"How long has been going on?"_ the therapist asked.

"Well, his friend said it had been going on for a while now," Akari said.

_"Okay then. Let me ask you something. How often does your family do activities with each other?"_

Akari cringed.

"Well, my parents are always away, my grandmother is rather old, and I'm always busy," she said.

_"How long has that been the case?"_

"Well, I wasn't always busy in the past," Akari said," But our parents were often gone."

_"I have seen cases like this in the past,"_ Mrs. Koizumi said_," Your little brother feels like he isn't getting enough attention at home, so he has built an entity of his own creation which can go wherever he needs and wants to go."_ Akari then remembered how Yuma said something about her not seeming to caring about him.

"Well…," she began," What do I do?"

_"Simple,"_ Mrs. Koizumi answered_," Be his big sister. Show him that you care about him."_

Akari thought a little, before thanking Mrs. Koizumi, and hanging up. She then headed up to Yuma's room, and before opening the door, to a breath.

"Yuma!" she called, as she entered.

"What is it, Nee-chan?" Yuma answered from the attic, not coming down. Akari climbed up into it.

"You know, my boss did offer me a day off this month," she said. _I was planning on seeing friends on that day_ she thought_ but this is for the good of my family._

"Maybe we could go for a little while to the carnival," Akari said, rubbing the back of her head. Yuma quickly sat up from his hammock, a smile spreading on his face.

"Really?" he asked happily.

"Sure," Akari said slowly. Yuma then threw his arms around her neck, hugging her.

"Thank you so much, Nee-chan!" he said.

"Watch it!" Akari said," You are going to make us both fall down!"

The next day, after school, Akari drove Yuma to the carnival.

"This is going to be fun!" Yuma declared, as he ran out of the car," I'm going to Kattobingu like never before!"

"Careful!" Akari called as she walked after him. However, she couldn't help but smile at her brother's antics.

"At least you are in good mental health for what I can see," she said with a giggle. Astral hovered overhead.

_"Observation 24: Siblings are willing to make sacrifices for each other," _he noted.

**Note: Alright, so here is another one. I am in need of plot ideas.**


	4. Birthday

_**Birthday**_

**Note: This idea is courtesy of Clare-Stovoid.**

At school, Yuma was snoring, having fallen asleep again.

"Yuma, wakeup!" Kotori said, prodding him slightly. When Yuma continued sleeping, she tugged at his ear.

"Gah!" Yuma said as he woke up," What is it, Kotori?"

"Its time for lunch," Kotori answered," You know as well as I do that you always need to eat."

"Fine," Yuma said with a sigh, as he got his lunchbox out.

As he and his friends were eating, Kotori brought up something.

"Isn't your sister's birthday coming?" she asked.

Yuma suddenly spat out the juice he was drinking.

"Watch it!" Tetsuo said.

"I completely forgot!" Yuma cried," Her birthday is in two days!"

"Well, you better think of something," Kotori said," What are you going to get her for a gift?"

"I can't get her anything because I don't have any money!" Yuma said, sounding a tad panicked," Even if I did, I have no idea what to get her!"

"Why don't you just make her a cake?" Tetsuo asked.

"I don't know how to cook!" Yuma answered.

"You could ask your grandmother," Kotori offered.

"But I do that every year I need help for Nee-chan's birthday," Yuma said with a sigh," I need to actually give Nee-chan something of my own."

After school, Yuma was walking home, thinking to himself. Astral came out of his charm.

_"Yuma, what is a birthday?"_ he asked.

"Its the day someone was born of course," Yuma said," Everyone has one."

_"Do I have one?"_ Astral asked.

"Probably," Yuma answered," What I'm worried about is my sister's birthday is coming up in a couple days, and I don't have anything to give her."

_"I advise you go with your friends' suggestion, and make her this 'cake',"_ Astral advised.

"But I told them, I can't cook," Yuma said with a sigh.

_"Have you ever tried?"_

Yuma paused.

"Well…. no," he admitted slowly.

_"If there is anything I have learned by working with you," _Astral said_," Is you can never tell your skills at something if you have no attempted to do it."_

Yuma sighed, before shrugging.

"I guess its worth trying," he said.

He opened the door to his house as he came home.

"I'm home," he announced.

"Hi, Yuma!" Akari said, from her position on the couch, she was reading a book, she then leaned over in front of him as he walked past," You remember what is coming up?" Yuma flinched.

"Of course," he said quickly, with a weak smile," Why wouldn't I?"

"You have been known to forget," Akari said, folding her arms, and eyeing Yuma slightly.

"Don't worry, I haven't!" he said quickly, before running up the stairs.

"For your sake, I hope not!" Akari called up at him, before sighing, and leaning back on the couch," Sometimes its hard to believe we share the same DNA."

Yuma collapsed facedown into his hammock with a moan.

"How can I make a cake?" he cried out.

_"I have heard tell about these 'cookbooks',"_ Astral said_," Perhaps you could look at one of those."_ Yuma looked up.

"But I don't know what kind of cake she wants," he said.

_"There is always the possibility of 'its the thought that counts',"_ Astral said.

"I tried that on Nee-chan's 17th birthday, after I bought her some discount pens, and they broke instantly" Yuma said.

_"What was her reaction?"_

"Well, she drove me to the park, and took me out to the middle," Yuma explained," All the while she was remaining calm, but then she went up to an O-bot, and when it was open, she stuffed me in their. And to make it worse it had apparently cleaned up area behind the grocery store, so it was full of rotten food."

_"I see,"_ Astral noted.

"So yeah," Yuma said," She doesn't take things like that very lightly. It took me three days before I got the smell completely off. That's why I've got to do something for her birthday. I don't even want to know what she'll do to me this time around."

The next day, Yuma had the day off, but Akari had to go to work, and Haru was out with some friends.

Yuma went into the kitchen, as he cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, how hard can this be?" he asked himself, with an enthusiastic smile. A second later, the smile fell away.

"I shouldn't have asked myself that," he moaned. Astral materialized next to him.

_"The cookbook is up there," _he said pointing. Yuma sighed, as he pulled it down. He opened it up, and placed it on the counter. He studied it.

"This book doesn't make any sense!" he cried. Astral looked at it closely.

_"It appears the book is upside-down," _he noted, as he leaned back up. Yuma did a sweat drop, as he turned red in embarrassment.

"Oh….. yeah," he said with a weak smile, as he turned the book over, and looked at it. He then got out the instructed bowl, and ingredients.

"Okay," Yuma said," I guess I can do Kattobingu for this as well." He then looked into it, and got started.

"Alright, first I need the cake mix," he said, as he poured it in," Then I need some eggs." He cracked the eggs in. Astral hovered over him.

_"Are you sure that is the right way to do it?" _he asked.

"I'm just following the instructions," Yuma said with a shrug," Now I need pudding mix, and sour cream." He put in some of said ingredients.

"Now I mix it together, and mix in chocolate chips and batter," he said, as he mixed everything together. Eventually, he had the cake mix all around.

"Okay!" he said with a smile," I think that's everything. Now I just need to put it in the oven." He turned to it, but saw it wasn't on. Yuma looked back to the book, and moaned.

"I forgot to preheat the oven!" he cried. He then turned the oven on to 350 degrees. After it was heated, Yuma put the cake in. He then collapsed onto the couch with a sigh.

_"It appears you did fairly well,"_ Astral said, in hopes of encouragement. Yuma grinned.

"Yeah, I did!" he said happily.

Some time later, the door then suddenly knocked.

"Come in!" Yuma said, hoping it wasn't his sister.

"Hi, Yuma!" Kotori said as she walked in, smiling.

"Kotori!" Yuma said sitting up," What are you doing here?"

"I figured you might need some help," Kotori said with a smile. Yuma grinned at her.

"Thanks," he said," I already put the cake in."

"That's good," Kotori said," How long has it been in?"

"About an hour," Yuma answered.

"That's probably good," Kotori said, as she put on some oven mittens, and went to the oven. She opened it, and pulled it out. Kotori cringed.

"Uh… Yuma!" she called.

"What?" Yuma asked as he came over. Kotori held up the cake. It was burnt. Yuma's jaw dropped.

"Oops," he said.

"Well, maybe its not that bad," Kotori said with a weak smile," Let's try it."

The two both got forks, and took a bite. They both made faces. Yuma spat his out, but Kotori, being more polite, managed to force her own down.

"Well that was… bracing," she said with a slight smile.

"Should've seen this coming," Yuma groaned.

_"Observation 25: You cannot cook,"_ Astral noted to Yuma.

"Shut up!" Yuma yelled at him.

As the day went on, Yuma, this time with Kotori's help, kept trying to make cakes. Each time, he failed one way or another. Finally, they got to one that was half decent.

"Baa-chan will be home soon, and so will Nee-chan," Yuma said with a sigh," We'll have to make do with this."

"Well good luck!" Kotori said with support, as she left.

_"Perhaps it won't be so bad," _Astral said_," Your sister will be pleased that you made her something."_

"When she tastes it, she'll probably throw me out the window," Yuma said.

The next day, Akari was driving home. She checked her watch. It was rather late in the day.

"Another day, another couple thousand yen," Akari said, as she pulled into her house. She got out, and headed up to the door. She opened it.

"I'm ho….," she started to say.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Gah!" Akari cried as she jumped up in surprise, dropping her purse in the process, and falling down on her rear. Her house was full of her friends, her brother, her grandmother, and a couple of her brother's friends.

"Happy birthday, Nee-chan!" Yuma said, as he came over to her, and bent down. Akari smiled.

"Thanks, everyone!" she said as she got up. Her friend Tetsuko came up.

"Here's my gift," she said, holding it out. Akari took it, and opened it. It was a new dress for formal occasions.

"This is great! Thanks!" Akari hugged her friend.

"That one is from me," Haru said, as she pointed to one gift near the couch. Akari opened it. It was a red, blue, and gold kimono.

"Baa-chan, this is beautiful!" Akari said happily.

"I figured you could use it on any given festival," Haru said with a smile. Akari hugged her happily.

"That one is from Tou-chan and Kaa-chan!" Yuma said, as he pointed to a package. Akari opened it, and saw it was a golden bracelet with an Egyptian symbol on it.

"This is beautiful!" Akari said, as she slipped it onto her wrist.

Akari opened her other gifts, and they were all wonderful. That is until Akari realized something.

"Yuma!" she called," Where is your gift?"

"You'll see," Yuma said with a grin, though Akari thought she detected a string of nervousness on her voice.

"Here's your cake!" Tetsuko said, as she put the cake on the table. Akari blew out the candles.

"Take a bite!" Yuma said quickly, his nervousness even more apparent. Kotori shot him an encouraging smilie, but it did little. Akari took a bite.

"I REGRET A LOT OF THINGS!" Yuma cried, as he shielded himself, expecting his sister to thrash him. Everyone, save Akari herself, stared at him.

"This is delicious!" Akari cried. Yuma blinked, and looked at his sister. She was smiling happily, as she took another bite.

"This is the best cake I've ever had!" she declared," Where did you get this?"

"Actually, Yuma made it himself," Haru said with a smile. Akari looked up.

"Yuma?" she asked.

"From scratch," Haru confirmed.

Akari looked at Yuma, who flinched again, visibly scared. Akari stood up, and walked over to Yuma.

"Please don't hurt me!" Yuma said quickly, but Akari hugged him tightly against her chest.

"Thanks, little bro," she said sweetly.

"Ahhhh," everyone went.

"Nmf-chmf," Yuma said.

"Pardon?" Akari asked.

"I can't… mmf…. breath…," Yuma said.

Astral floated over them.

_"Observation 26: Great things can be accomplished by humans if they are doing it for someone they love."_

**Note: I say this went well. I used an actual cake recipe for this. It was called "Too Much Chocolate Cake".**

**Still taking ideas. I will do a chapter that includes some Yuma x Kotori, but not for a while, maybe towards the end.**


	5. A Day Together

_**Day Together**_

**Note: Inspired by Hana13**

Yuma opened the door to his house, having just finished a long week at school. He was looking forward to a weekend of relaxing, and goofing off.

He looked around, and noticed no one seemed to be home.

"Looks like no one's around," he noted as he threw his bag onto a chair," I wonder what's on TV?" He grabbed the remote, and turned on the television, propping his feet up on the table.

As Yuma surfed through the channels, he heard the car pull in. The door opened, and Akari and Haru walked in, carrying groceries.

"Will you help us?" Akari asked.

"Sure," Yuma answered as he turned the television off, and went to help with the grocery unloading," What's for dinner?"

"Shrimp," Haru answered cheerfully.

"Great," Yuma said, thought it was rather forced, as he placed a bag on the counter.. Shrimp was definitely not his favorite food.

"Don't whine," Akari said," Take what you get."

"Fine," Yuma agreed.

The family later all sat down for dinner.

"I just want you two to know that tomorrow, I will be going to an outing with some friends," Haru said," So I shall not be around that much."

"That's fine," Yuma said," I'm probably going to meet Kotori and Tetsuo tomorrow."

"I'll probably do some more work tomorrow," Akari said.

"No, neither of you will," Haru said calmly, as she drank some tea.

"What do you mean, Baa-chan?" Yuma asked.

"You two never spend any quality together as brother and sister," Haru said," Tomorrow, I want you two to spend the day together."

"SAY WHAT?" Yuma and Akari both yelled as they stood up.

"What are we supposed to even do?" Akari cried, throwing her arms up.

"That is for you and your brother to decide," Haru said.

"But Baa-chan…," Yuma began.

"No complaints," Haru said firmly, her eyes flashing. Both Yuma and Akari flinched, and sighed as they relented.

"Fine," they said in synch.

"You two will enjoy yourselves just fine," Haru said with a smile.

The next day, the siblings found themselves sitting in the living room, just staring into space, in an awkward silence.

"Sooooo…," Yuma said," How's the job going?"

"Fine," Akari said, leaning back," It can be a tad stressful."

"Coming from the girl who uses her little brother to find scoops," Yuma muttered to himself offhandedly.

"What was that?" Akari said, leaning towards him.

"Nothing, Nee-chan!" Yuma said quickly, holding up his hands.

The two sat in silence for a little, before Yuma brought up the next topic.

"I wonder when we'll see Tou-chan and Kaa-chan again," Yuma mentioned. Akari shrugged.

"They can only stay somewhere so long," she said. Yuma plucked at his pendant, looking at it. Akari looked at it as well. She sighed.

"I still don't get why Tou-chan gave that to you," she said, staring at the ceiling.

"What do you mean?" Yuma asked.

"It seems like a lot of times, they prefer you to me," Akari said slowly.

"Nee-chan," Yuma said slowly, looking at his sister carefully.

"I remember that often doted on you," Akari said," Tou-chan took you on those adventures often times, and Kaa-chan often gave you the artifacts they brought home. They often just told me 'take care of your little brother'."

Yuma couldn't believe it, his big sister, saying that SHE was jealous of HIM.

"Well sorry about that, Nee-chan," he said," You know, I always thought it was the other way around. They kept telling me, 'listen to your sister'." Akari giggled slightly.

"I can believe that," she said still smiling.

"I don't think they loved either one of us more than the other," Yuma said, leaning back on the chair, fiddling with his amulet slightly.

"I guess," Akari said. Yuma reached for the remote.

"I wonder what's on TV," he said. Akari, however, quickly snatched the remote before Yuma could get it.

"I don't think so," she said," You'll just pick something childish. I'm NOT watching ESper Robin again!"

"But Nee-chan!" Yuma insisted.

Akari tapped him on the forehead.

"If you can get the remote from me, you can control it," she said slyly, with a smirk. Yuma turned red, and he began reaching for the remote, but Akari held it over her head. Since she was taller than Yuma, he couldn't reach it. However, Yuma didn't give up that easily.

"I"m going to Kattobingu for the remote!" he declared, as he jumped up, and actually grabbed onto Akari's arm, his feet off the ground.

"What the…," Akari began, but Yuma held on tight, as he clambered up his sister's arm. Akari thrashed around, but her brother refused to let go.

"Are you crazy? You'll get hurt!" Akari yelled. But Yuma continued to hold on, until Akari used her karate, and pinned him to the floor.

"Give up?" she asked.

"Fine," Yuma groaned, as he relinquished, and accepted defeat. Akari laughed slightly.

"That's my bro," she said, as she turned the TV on.

She surfed a little, as Yuma let her drone on. Eventually, she landed on the news channel.

"This is my report!" Akari said, standing up happily, pointing.

"I thought you were just a journalist," Yuma said.

"I've done a couple TV broadcast reports," Akari said," But this is the first time I've actually seen it on TV!"

"That's great," Yuma said, rolling his eyes," Can't we watch something else?"

"No," Akari answered flatly, poking her brother in the forehead.

"But Nee-chan!" Yuma cried.

"No buts!" Akari said," I'm your big sister, meaning I call the shots!"

"That's not fair!" Yuma whined.

"Like it or not, its what's happening little bro," Akari said, putting her hand on his head.

Yuma pouted, as he hopped onto the couch. Akari chuckled as she sat next to him.

"You look cute when you pout," she said.

"Shut up!" Yuma said," I'm not cute!"

"You were cutest when you said your first word," Akari said, ignoring Yuma's comment. Yuma blinked, forgetting the part about being "cute".

"My first word?" he asked. Akari nodded.

"What was my first word?" Yuma asked.

"Your first word was 'Nee-chan'," Akari said with a smile.

"So you were my first word?" Yuma asked.

"Sure was," Akari answered.

The two sat in an awkward silence between the siblings as the TV continued to play. After some time, Akari turned the channel, and noticed a movie playing.

"Want to watch this?" she asked, gesturing.

"Sure," Yuma said with a shrug.

The two watched for a while. It was some random family film.

"Sit next to me," Akari eventually said.

"What?" Yuma responded," Why?"

"I want to use your head as an armrest," Akari answered. Yuma frowned.

"Is that all I am to you?"

"Just an item of leisure," Akari said jokingly with a grin," Just get over here, and sit next to your sister."

"Fine," Yuma answered reluctantly, as he sat next to Akari.

The two continued to watch the rather long movie, till it got rather late. Yuma yawned.

"Baa-chan still isn't back yet?" he said.

"Doesn't look like it," Akari answered.

"I'm getting kind of sleepy," Yuma said.

"Well maybe you should…," Akari started to say, only to notice that Yuma was leaning on her shoulder, having fallen asleep.

"Yuma, what are you doing?" Akari demanded, but Yuma was already asleep. Akari sighed, as she put her arm around Yuma, and pulled him closer.

"I guess somethings never change," she commented.

"I'm home!" Haru said as she entered with a happy smile.

"Welcome home, Baa-chan!" Akari said softly. Haru noticed Yuma asleep. She smiled.

"You see, I told you both that you would enjoyer yourselves," she said.

"I guess you were right," Akari responded with a smile.

However, Akari failed to notice the lawnchair, book, tea kettle, cup, and food bag out in the front.

**Note: If you can guess what I meant by the ending, I'd be pleased.**

**Still taking ideas.**


End file.
